Longtime marathon volunteers from Abington won't be scared off

Wednesday

Apr 16, 2014 at 1:39 AMApr 16, 2014 at 1:49 AM

Couple more determined than ever to man Boston Marathon hydration station after last year's bombings

ABINGTON – Arthur Reed, an Abington accountant and Bentley University professor, was standing in the parking lot behind a Boston Marathon hydration station at Mile 17, preparing to thank his students for their volunteer work.It was almost 3 p.m. and nearly every runner had already passed their tables. The group, representing the accounting and finance fraternity Beta Alpha Psi, had put away most of their equipment and were chasing down runaway paper cups.

Everything seemed normal until the email and text messages started.

At first, there were more questions than answers, like were the two explosions on Boylston Street an accident? It must be some kind of mistake, Reed said he remembers thinking.

As more details came in, Reed and his wife, Anne Marie, listened to the radio on the way back home to Abington, disbelief became anger.

“This is our marathon, you can’t do this,” Reed said he thought at the time. “Even though physically we weren’t (there), you can visualize that a bomb just went off near the finish line.”

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, Reed, like so many who have participated in the race, said he felt his attachment grow.

Thirty years ago, Reed ran the marathon three times, breaking the 3-hour mark twice. Since then, he and his wife have watched the race nearly every year.

Next Monday will mark the 10th time the Reeds have volunteered with Beta Alpha Psi and the Boston Athletic Association. They will set up two dozen tables on both sides of the road and stack cups of Gatorade and bottles of water.

In years past, elite runners and soldiers “rucking” with their gear hit the water station first. This year, it will just be the elites, who typically bypass the BAA tables for their sponsors’ fluids.

Active military members will not be hiking the 26.2-mile course, as part of an agreement with marathon organizers, whose new rules this year include a ban on military equipment.

Next come more casual runners, who often stop and thank the volunteers, Anne Marie Reed said. Halfway through the race, the road teems with people.

“It’s amazing you can even get water to all these people,” she said.

The Reeds and the fraternity students usually stay until 4 p.m. outside the Woodland MBTA station in Newton. By that time, all but the walkers have passed – people typically fundraising who are not likely to finish until dark.

When the bombings rocked Boylston Street, killing three and injuring more than 260, the volunteers had already had a barbecue lunch and were wrapping up. At Mile 17 they did not see any obvious effects of the attacks, as runners were being halted several miles further down the route. But the mood shifted considerably, Anne Marie Reed said.

“People started to get anxious about what was going on,” she said.

Later, back home, the Reeds “were glued to the set and to the Internet” the rest of the night and throughout the week, Arthur Reed said.

That Friday, Bentley University was shut down as police chased the bombers in nearby Cambridge and Watertown.

Despite what happened, the Reeds are excited to return to their station Monday. They and the Beta Alpha Psi students are unwavering in their commitment, Arthur Reed said.

In a typical year, 10 percent of the 60 to 80 students who sign up to volunteer in December show up on Marathon Monday. This year, all but three of 80 will be there.

“We’re back,” Arthur Reed said. “(The bombings) just made the students more intent on being involved.”